An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Edward Gemayel, concluded a visit to Senegal on Tuesday, from March 18 to 26, to examine the explosive findings of the Court of Auditors' audit report, published on February 12, 2025. This audit, covering the period 2019-2023, highlighted "significant misreporting" of budget deficits and public debt, confirming major discrepancies in the official data at the time.

According to the IMF, the average budget deficit over this period was revised upward by 5.6 percentage points of GDP, while central government debt jumped from 74.4% to 99.7% of GDP at the end of 2023. "These revisions mainly reflect previously undisclosed liabilities, including hidden borrowings representing 25.3 percentage points of GDP," Edward Gemayel said in an official statement. These figures reveal "serious gaps in budgetary control and accountability," according to the IMF team, which analyzed the institutional and procedural factors behind these inconsistencies.

The mission also assessed the recent economic situation. In 2024, Senegal posted resilient real GDP growth of 6.0%, driven by the hydrocarbon sector, with inflation contained at 0.8%. However, the budget deficit reached 11.7% of GDP and public debt 105.7% of GDP, exacerbated by more difficult financing conditions, marked by costly short-term external borrowing.

Faced with these challenges, the IMF emphasizes the need for "bold and credible reforms" to bring the budget deficit within WAEMU limits (3% of GDP) and reduce debt. Among the priority measures, the institution cites "the rationalization of tax exemptions" and "the gradual elimination of costly and untargeted energy subsidies." These adjustments, according to Gemayel, are essential to "restore fiscal space" and support development priorities.

The IMF welcomes "the Senegalese authorities' strong commitment to budget transparency and accountability" and says it is ready to support the country in a new reform program. However, discussions on this program will only begin after the implementation of "corrective measures" and the review of the file by the IMF's Executive Board.

During this mission, the team met with key figures, including President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Finance Minister Cheikh Diba, and Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr, as well as representatives of civil society and development partners. These discussions, described as "frank and fruitful," demonstrate Senegal's commitment to learning from this audit to strengthen the management of its public finances.